DeathRun 2D - Let's remove one useless dimension. - Garry's Mod

Hey there ! I think quite a lot of you know what Death Run is. Death Run is a game made popular on Counter-Strike Source, where you have to make your way through a linear map filled with traps, triggered by another team. If there is a survivor at the end, he has to kill that team. You may have noticed that Death Run is a very basic gamemode. Actually, there isn't much code, everything is under the hands of the map maker. And you noticed, the map is basically a long corridor. It's not a web, it's not a tree, it doesn't have multiple paths. [b]+ So what is DeathRun 2D ?[/b] DeathRun 2D is a [highlight]sidescrolling gamemode with cursor and keyboard controls[/highlight] which has the aim to [highlight]renew the entertaining value[/highlight] of the classic Death Run. [release][b]Where do we download that ?[/b] It's [highlight]not yet[/highlight] available. It's a work-in-progress, while coding is mostly done, it misses a full map. [highlight]If you are a developer, or you want to look at a map file (Hammer format), you can use this SVN :[/highlight] Requires Garry's Mod Beta. Create a folder called deathrun2d/ in gamemodes folder, and use this SVN address (no login info.) : [url]http://deathrun2d.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/[/url] Mappers : A VMF is available in the content/maps/ folder. A FGD is available in the root folder. Entity names begin with gmod_dr2d_ .[/release] [b]+ Video of the current prototype.[/b] 21st of November 2009 - Basic concept [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8sWNI-tImc[/media] 22nd of November 2009 - Trap trigger, and fancy traps [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGE4z4i5MFQ[/media] [b]+ Why a remake ?[/b] Current old Death Run has one major issue : - [highlight]You spend most of your time in Spectator mode[/highlight]. It has other issues : - Maps are linear. - Map lacks detail care. - Fun can't be enjoyed at its full potential with a first-person camera. - Most maps use at the killer side, button controls to activate traps. DeathRun 2D will try to solve most of those issues, but the Spectator issue is a bit hard to solve at the time being. By removing one dimension, the players will be able to watch a scene in a humorous angle or in a spectacular view. Controls share similarities with the game "Codename : Gordon", a 2D shockwave game made by Nuclearvision. [b]+ Modularity.[/b] One of features is to allow map makers to have a control over some things they couldn't because it was code dependent. This is for enhancing the modularity of maps. They can change death sounds for both teams, end-of-game sounds, and whether flashlight can be toggled |/& is turned on by default. So for a Mario-themed map, which makes sense in a sidescrolling gameplay, they can tweak it. [b]They also have full control over the player camera distance[/b], thanks to a discriminate brush that tells DeathRun 2D how far the camera should be depending on the player position. So a map can change the camera distance, no thanks to triggers, but thanks to brushes. [b]+ (Technical Info) How to make maps for it ?[/b] The mapping chart is quite restrictive, and not yet fully defined. Some details I can tell : - Some entities can be named in a particular way so that only one team can see them. - A LADDER-textured brush can control the camera distance. - Runners should never be hidden behind an opaque wall. - Runners have to be re-aligned with the center thanks to trigger_push and PLAYERCLIP. - Runners may offset their third dimension alignment at mapper's will. Players can't move back and forth the third dimension at will. That means there is no coded player alignment with a particular axis, the mapper can make use of the third dimension for special traps. - There is no restriction on doing branched paths for runners. - There are trigger_hurt volumes with fall damage at the bottom + graduate hurt in case the player falls down the third dimension onto a prop. - Real physical ladders have to be block-protected against forms of prop-blocking. - All team players are nocollided. - Adding physical props around the map is advised for trap awesomeness. - Nothing can stop a mapper into adding layers of decoration in front of the camera or behind the gameplay scene using skybrushes. - A player can aim his weapon towards the third dimension. [b]+ Status.[/b] This gamemode is currently a work in progress. The main code is mostly completed, but a full prototype map isn't, as well as a scoring system. It was made from "scratch", the basis code is from Laser Dance or whatever lightweight Fretta gamemode used as a skeleton to start building on DeathRun 2D. Some code is inspired on Jihad Strike to get how CalcView and CreateMove works. I made this gamemode mostly as an coding experiment. I don't actually know if people are interested in this project, so this is a test run. Thanks for reading !

I recall seeing something identical to this some time ago, I can't remember what it was called or if they're still working on it or what. Still, it looks like this could turn out quite nicely.

[QUOTE=Ha3;18488617]Hey there ! I think quite a lot of you know what Death Run is. Death Run is a game made popular on Counter-Strike Source, where you have to make your way through a linear map filled with traps, triggered by another team. If there is a survivor at the end, he has to kill that team. You may have noticed that Death Run is a very basic gamemode. Actually, there isn't much code, everything is under the hands of the map maker. And you noticed, the map is basically a long corridor. It's not a web, it's not a tree, it doesn't have multiple paths. [b]+ So what is DeathRun 2D ?[/b] DeathRun 2D is a [highlight]sidescrolling gamemode with cursor and keyboard controls[/highlight] which has the aim to [highlight]renew the entertaining value[/highlight] of the classic Death Run. [release][b]Where do we download that ?[/b] It's [highlight]not yet[/highlight] available. It's a work-in-progress, while coding is mostly done, it misses a full map.[/release] [b]+ A video of the current prototype.[/b] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8sWNI-tImc[/media] [b]+ Why a remake ?[/b] Current old Death Run has one major issue : - [highlight]You spend most of your time in Spectator mode[/highlight]. It has other issues : - Maps are linear. - Map lacks detail care. - Fun can't be enjoyed at its full potential with a first-person camera. - Most maps use at the killer side, button controls to activate traps. DeathRun 2D will try to solve most of those issues, but the Spectator issue is a bit hard to solve at the time being. By removing one dimension, the players will be able to watch a scene in a humorous angle or in a spectacular view. Controls share similarities with the game "Codename : Gordon", a 2D shockwave game made by Nuclearvision. [b]+ Modularity.[/b] One of features is to allow map makers to have a control over some things they couldn't because it was code dependent. This is for enhancing the modularity of maps. They can change death sounds for both teams, end-of-game sounds, and whether flashlight can be toggled |/& is turned on by default. So for a Mario-themed map, which makes sense in a sidescrolling gameplay, they can tweak it. [b]They also have full control over the player camera distance[/b], thanks to a discriminate brush that tells DeathRun 2D how far the camera should be depending on the player position. So a map can change the camera distance, no thanks to triggers, but thanks to brushes. [b]+ (Technical Info) How to make maps for it ?[/b] The mapping chart is quite restrictive, and not yet fully defined. Some details I can tell : - Some entities can be named in a particular way so that only one team can see them. - A LADDER-textures brush can control the camera distance. - Runners should never be hidden behind an opaque wall. - Runners have to be re-aligned with the center thanks to trigger_push and PLAYERCLIP. - Runners may offset their third dimension alignment at mapper's will. Players can't move back and forth the third dimension at will. That means there is no coded player alignment with a particular axis, the mapper can make use of the third dimension for special traps. - There is no restriction on doing branched paths for runners. - There are trigger_hurt volumes with fall damage at the bottom + graduate hurt in case the player falls down the third dimension onto a prop. - Real physical ladders have to be block-protected against forms of prop-blocking. - All team players are nocollided. - Adding physical props around the map is advised for trap awesomeness. - Nothing can stop a mapper into adding layers of decoration in front of the camera or behind the gameplay scene using skybrushes. - A player can aim his weapon towards the third dimension. [b]+ Status.[/b] This gamemode is currently a work in progress. The main code is mostly completed, but a full prototype map isn't, as well as a scoring system. It was made from "scratch", the basis code is from Laser Dance or whatever lightweight Fretta gamemode used as a skeleton to start building on DeathRun 2D. Some code is inspired on Jihad Strike to get how CalcView and CreateMove works. I made this gamemode mostly as an coding experiment. I don't actually know if people are interested in this project, so this is a test run. Thanks for reading ![/QUOTE] Wow neat idea! I cant wait! Can i beta Test ?

Genius, I can't wait til' this comes out!

I also vaguely remember something like this. Its a nice concept, though. Also, what video editor do you use?

I love your crosshair.

[QUOTE=Nerdeboy;18491437]I love your crosshair.[/QUOTE] It DOES look good!

This is absolute Genius!

I like it, but why the "Old deathrun sucks" attitude?

Because it kinda does? I like the looks of this, however.

i like this gamemode, every idea would make the original deathrun much more boring i love how you would see the traps more clearly and your death would be seen much better

Honestly, I don't think anyone's going to map for the game because of the sheer complexity involved in making a map for it.

I would once he releases the vmf of the current one.

This is epic I love the control your giving the mapper

If you need a mapper, PM me.

nice, i like it

Hi, First, thanks for the replies, and I'm going to answer most of the questions : - Video editor ? Sony Vegas Pro cause I couldn't get a hand on Premiere. - Old Death Run sucks ? I know a lot of people like Death Run, and a lot find it boring, sometimes they like it and find it boring which is my case (I don't get how we can have fun by doing absolutely nothing, sitting back for the next round). I want to "give a try" by changing slightly Death Run and council the two parties. - Sheer complexity ? Yeah, there is a some degree of complexity. Doing traps is complex as usual. The only thing that makes a map a bit hard to head in Hammer is because of all the trigger_push needed to realign the player, and also the third dimension death trigger_hurt. There is something I want to develop in the maps, which are the multi-step traps. It's the traps once activated, places the players in a chain reaction they can't get out. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGE4z4i5MFQ[/media] I developed one of them here, and it's basically a three step : - Push the players into a vent they can't get out. - Let the killer team crowbar them. - In case they forgot or want to grief the waiting time, the map kills them without asking. It got inspiration from the game Evil Genius, where you can design traps in a chain reaction form : [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fed8mKUmUX4[/media] Also, the input method for the Killers doesn't need to be buttons. It was never an obligation on Death Run, but it seemed every map maker stuck to the "button trigger". [highlight]- Can I beta test ? Can I get a VMF ?[/highlight] [highlight]Yeah[/highlight], you can SVN to the prototype, which requires Garry's Mod Beta : Create a folder called deathrun2d/ in gamemodes folder : SVN (no login info.) : [url]http://deathrun2d.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/[/url] The VMF is somewhere around the maps folder. A FGD has been provided with the SVN. [highlight]Please don't modify directly the VMF, make a copy of it. It is SVN'd, and will change along updates.[/highlight]

Classy.

Yea if you provide this original map, I'm sure tons of people will want to map for it. I know I would, it looks like a challenge.

Well for my part I liked the 3rd dimension.

[QUOTE]Let's remove one useless dimension.[/QUOTE] Genious :D

[QUOTE='[yournamehere];18511076']Yea if you provide this original map, I'm sure tons of people will want to map for it. I know I would, it looks like a challenge.[/QUOTE] The VMF and FGD are provided along with the SVN. (VMF : maps/ folder, FGD: root folder.) It is advised to use only Half-Life 2 content (that means no CS:S or other), and eventually custom content. Don't modify the VMF directly (it is SVN'd), make a copy of it and modify it then.

i don't understand why you're making it 2d... it limits the intricacy of the traps so much. from your video i can see that the main trap is the "get out of the way before you get pushed off by the random hidden thing" trap...

[QUOTE=Sechs;18514727]i don't understand why you're making it 2d... it limits the intricacy of the traps so much. from your video i can see that the main trap is the "get out of the way before you get pushed off by the random hidden thing" trap...[/QUOTE] If you look at current Death Run maps, most of the traps have a 2D (top-forward) model (players move straightforward), that is very close to sidescrolling, while the strafing plane (the third dimension in that case) serves for the only purpose of giving players parallel and simultaneous-trap paths so that players don't stack too much. At some times, the strafing plane is used for one same trap : "Ok, should I go left or right ? One of the platforms is a fake or will break on touch. Eeh. ... ... Oops I died !". When the map is linear, usually mappers place on a rectangular plane visual elements of the trap in an excessive way, i.e. A rectangle filled with black circles which is for each a flame emitter ; Carnivorous Mario green pipes aligned to form a rectangle ; Three props of the same thing to mean "Hey, this is a single object that explodes, but we place three of them here just to let you know, that explosion occurs in that plane so you can't dodge the dynamite from the left or right". The strafing plane is actually there, but the usage it's made is completely awkward and in fact, is more annoying for the mapper because it is meaningless, it forces the mapper to place several of one thing because they need to cover a plane. I understand the fact that doing sidescrolling is a "compensation" of mapper's annoyance, but that complexity makes sense.

Downloaded the SVN content, flicked through the VMF and my mind = blown. Any chance in a few simple vmf's for this? (a platform which you just walk left and right on etc). Failing that a few instructions on mapping for this? (I'm really interested in the idea) [editline]02:31AM[/editline] Quick idea for a layout being by the side of a canal etc [media]http://errur.com/i/images/6537_deathrun2dtest0001.jpg[/media]

This sounds fun to map with. Gamemode looks interesting too.

[QUOTE=Nerdeboy;18502408]Honestly, I don't think anyone's going to map for the game because of the sheer complexity involved in making a map for it.[/QUOTE] Not too hard once you've played about with it (it seems) After a few minutes of scratching my head (I was an idiot and didn't notice I need the beta gmod) it was simple. The camera works just like a spring. Then for the rest of it, it just looks like brushes to hide the other team and that's it, really. He's done a smashing job at making it rather simple for the mappers. Any mappers wanting to play with this.. it isn't actually too hard to get the basics working it looks like! [media]http://errur.com/i/images/5385_dr2d_deathrun2dtest0000.jpg[/media] Sure I've only got the extreme basics (man walks left and right)

This look pretty awesome.

Might try to map for this, Made me download Gmod Beta just for this.

So have you managed to fix the whole "the player infront will always die because the deaths won't activate the switch until he can't jump back" problem that makes the games turn into fairly boring "jump over obstacles, wait until noob sets off trap, repeat" cycles?